“New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” (March 2021)

This article includes twenty (20) new records of alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to six (6) Phyla (Rhodophyta, Tracheophyta, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, and Chordata) distributed from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Sea of Alboran. The records are reported from nine (9) countries and can be classified into two categories: new records for the Mediterranean Sea and new records of non-indigenous species expanding within the Mediterranean Sea. The first category includes the gastropod Turbo radiatus from Lebanon coasts, the portunid crab Charybdis (Charybdis) natator from Tunis southern lagoon, the mollusc Thuridilla mazda from South Spain, and the nudibranch Okenia picoensis from the Alboran coasts of Spain and from Malta. The second category includes the bivalve Nudiscintilla cf. glabra from the Aegean coast of Turkey, the rhodophyte Colaconema codicola from the North Aegean coasts of Greece, the naked band gaper Champsodon nudivittis from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. Also, the brachyuran Gonioinfradens giardi from the Greek Ionian waters, the codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus from the Croatian coasts of the Adriatic Sea, and the bryozoan Arbopercula tenella and copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris both from the Gulf of Trieste, Slovenian and Italian coasts, respectively. New records were also reported for the ascidian Distaplia bermudensis from brackish the Gulf of Naples, Italy, the damselfish Abudefduf cf. saxatilis and the seagrass Halophila stipulacea from Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, and for the fish Paranthias furcifer from the harbour of Almeria, Alboran Sea, Spain. Through these records, an understanding of the expanding mechanisms and processes and, if possible, the development of mitigation measures within the region will be further facilitated

New Mediterranean biodiversity records (March 2016)

In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries mainly throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five Phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: Callinectes sapidus and Chelidonura fulvipunctata; Monaco: Aplysia dactylomela; Italy: Charybdis (Charybdis) feriata, Carcharodon carcharias, Seriola fasciata, and Siganus rivulatus; Malta: Pomacanthus asfur; Croatia: Lagocephalus sceleratus and Pomadasys incisus; Montenegro: Lagocephalus sceleratus; Greece: Amathia (Zoobotryon) verticillata, Atys macandrewii, Cerithium scabridum, Chama pacifica, Dendostrea cf. folium, Ergalatax junionae, Septifer cumingii, Syphonota geographica, Syrnola fasciata, Oxyu- richthys petersi, Scarus ghobban, Scorpaena maderensis, Solea aegyptiaca and Upeneus pori; Turkey: Lobotes surinamensis, Ruvettus pretiosus and Ophiocten abyssicolum. In the current article, the presence of Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann, 1887) is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean from Italy. The great contribution of citizen scientists in monitoring biodiversity records is reflected herein, as 10% of the authors are citizen scientists, and contributed 37.5% of the new findings.peer-reviewe

New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (March 2021)

This article includes twenty (20) new records of alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to six (6) Phyla (Rhodophyta, Tracheophyta, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, and Chordata) distributed from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Sea of Alboran. The records are reported from nine (9) countries and can be classified into two categories: new records for the Mediterranean Sea and new records of non-indigenous species expanding within the Mediterranean Sea. The first category includes the gastropod Turbo radiatus from Lebanon coasts, the portunid crab Charybdis (Charybdis) natator from Tunis southern lagoon, the mollusc Thuridilla mazda from South Spain, and the nudibranch Okenia picoensis from the Alboran coasts of Spain and from Malta. The second category includes the bivalve Nudiscintilla cf. glabra from the Aegean coast of Turkey, the rhodophyte Colaconema codicola from the North Aegean coasts of Greece, the naked band gaper Champsodon nudivittis from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. Also, the brachyuran Gonioinfradens giardi from the Greek Ionian waters, the codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus from the Croatian coasts of the Adriatic Sea, and the bryozoan Arbopercula tenella and copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris both from the Gulf of Trieste, Slovenian and Italian coasts, respectively. New records were also reported for the ascidian Distaplia bermudensis from brackish the Gulf of Naples, Italy, the damselfish Abudefduf cf. saxatilis and the seagrass Halophila stipulacea from Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, and for the fish Paranthias furcifer from the harbour of Almeria, Alboran Sea, Spain. Through these records, an understanding of the expanding mechanisms and processes and, if possible, the development of mitigation measures within the region will be further facilitated

Predicción de la fatiga de disipadores de energía elastoplásticos para estructuras sismorresistentes

Elastoplastic energy dissipators are used in earthquake-resistant design in order to dissipate a substantial part of the seismic energy acting on a building. They are elements that are not part of the load-bearing structure and, therefore, are easily replaceable in case of damage. Their behaviour is usually stable and their degree of degradation difficult to appreciate visually. To assess their degree of degradation, damage indices are used which estimate their remaining dissipative capacity through the combination of a number of variables such as, for example, the number of cycles sustained and their amplitude, the energy dissipated, accumulated deformation and maximum deformation. In the first part of this doctoral thesis, the current state-of-the-art in terms of existing damage models is reviewed. The second part of this thesis brings together a wide experimental foundation based on data obtained in previous research works complemented with new tests carried out within the present thesis. In its third part, the validity of various fatigue models is assessed through the experimental foundation brought together in the second part of this thesis. In its fourth and final part, the validity of some of the best-known hysteretic models has been analyzed in order to reproduce the experimental response of the dissipators tested. Notable as the most important contribution of this thesis is the attainment of two models of mixed fatigue and dimensionless variables, which demonstrate excellent validity considering, in the same fatigue curve, dissipators of different types and geometry based on low carbon steel and uniform plastification in uniaxial states of stressEls dissipadors d’energia elastoplàstics s’utilitzen en el disseny sísmic per dissipar una part substancial de l’energia sísmica introduïda en una construcció. Són uns elements que no formen part de l’estructura portant i, per tant, fàcilment reemplaçables en cas de quedar danyats. El seu comportament sol ser estable i el seu grau de degradació difícilment apreciable de forma visual. Per avaluar el seu grau de degradació es recorre als índex de dany, que estimen la capacitat dissipativa romanent a partir de la combinació de variables diverses com són, per exemple, el nombre de cicles suportats i la seva amplitud, l’energia dissipada, la deformació acumulada i deformació màxima. A la primera part d’aquesta tesi doctoral es revisa l’estat de l’art relatiu a models de dany existents. La segona part d’aquesta tesi recull una àmplia base experimental basada en dades obtingudes en treballs previs de recerca, complementats amb nous assajos realitzats a la present tesi. En una tercera part es valora la bondat de diversos models de fatiga mitjançant la base experimental recollida a la segona part. En la seva quarta i última part s’ha analitzat la bondat d’alguns dels models histerètics més coneguts per a reproduir la resposta experimental dels dissipadors assajats. La conclusió més important que s’extreu de la tesi és l’obtenció de dos models de fatiga mixtes i variables adimensionals, els quals demostren una excel·lent bondat considerant, en una mateixa corba de fatiga, dissipadors de diferent tipologia i geometria, basats en acers de baix contingut en carboni i plastificació uniforme en estat uniaxial de tensionsPrograma de Doctorat en Tecnologi

Learning based on the project entitled "design and construction of a wooden bridge"

This article presents the results of a case involving the application of project-based learning carried out with students in the Mechanical Engineering degree program at the University of Girona. The project, entitled "Design and construction of a wooden bridge", was conducted at the Polytechnic School in the third-year Structures course. This project required students to address, consider and solve different problems related to the resistance of materials, structural calculations, material optimization and structural design. The project also included the building of the bridge based on the calculations made, thus enabling the students to verify the suitability of the theoretical calculations as compared to real results. Furthermore, a competition was held to reward those teams who obtained the best ratio between the failure load and the weight of the bridge. The main conclusion observed from the implementation of only two editions of this project is the acquisition of the different proposed competences (both specific and cross-curricular) by the students. Finally, it was interesting to note that after completing the activity, the students were observed to be more motivated by the course conten

Mediterranean Matters: Revision of the Family Onchidorididae (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) with the Description of a New Genus and a New Species

The Mediterranean Sea hosts a great Nudibranchia diversity and has proved to be particularly intriguing in the case of the family Onchidorididae, a group of dorid nudibranchs that lately increased its diversity with the addition of one recently described Mediterranean species. The Onchidorididae family has a troubled systematic history to date, characterized by uncertainties and genera that are considered valid or not, according to the different authors. This confused taxonomy reflects the lack of a broad and comprehensive view on the phylogenetic relationships occurring between Onchidorididae members, an incorrect interpretation of the diagnostic morphological characters, and a poor knowledge of important biological aspects characterizing the different genera included in the family. To shed some light on the systematics of Onchidorididae, an integrative taxonomic revision was carried out involving morphological, ecological, and molecular analyses on an updated dataset. Mediterranean specimens and species were added to the dataset of the already known Onchidorididae and a new species from the Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea) is described here. Furthermore, historical controversies are clarified due to the discovery of new important synapomorphies useful to define genera belonging to the Onchidorididae family and to describe a new genus. Finally, the taxonomic status of all the known Onchidorididae species is investigated and discussed, filling the gap of knowledge on neglected species

The Sea Slug Doriopsilla areolata Bergh, 1880 (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Mediterranean Sea: Another Case of Cryptic Diversity

The Mediterranean Sea diversity is still far from being fully disclosed. Marine Heterobranchia are one of the most paradigmatic species-rich groups, with many recent systematic studies revealing the high density of new, cryptic, and endemic species occurring in the Mediterranean basin. In this study, sea slug Doriopsilla areolata, which was considered until today one of the most widespread nudibranchs worldwide, was investigated using a molecular approach to compare Mediterranean and Atlantic populations for the first time. The molecular analyses involved three different molecular markers, the two mitochondrial COI and 16S, and the nuclear H3 gene. The results revealed a complex of species within D. areolata that indeed consists of three potentially species, two of which are endemic to the Mediterranean Sea: Doriopsilla areolata, which is distributed in the Adriatic Sea (the type locality of the former species), D. rarispinosa, which occurs in the Western Mediterranean basin and along the Tunisian coast, and one additional Atlantic species here provisionally defined as Doriopsilla sp. 1. This study helps to unveil another case of cryptic diversity within Mediterranean Heterobranchia and to increase the knowledge on Doriopsilla genus diversity

Pràctiques d'elasticitat i resistència de materials

En aquest llibre es presenta una col·lecció de guions de pràctiques de laboratori d’elasticitat i resistència de materials per a estudiants d’Enginyeria i Arquitectur

New records of rarely reported species in the Mediterranean Sea (July 2023)

This Collective Article presents new information about the occurrence of 23 marine taxa that belong to five Phyla: two Chlo-rophyta, one Annelida, six Mollusca, three Arthropoda, eleven Chordata (one Ascidiacea, one Elasmobranchii and nine Teleostei) and extending from the Western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. All these records were reported from nine countries from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with a broad biogeographical coverage as follows: Spain: first records of the sacoglos-sans Cyerce graeca and Placida tardyi for the Alboran Sea and first records of the nudibranch Marionia gemmii for the Mediter-ranean waters of Spain; first records of nudibranch Algarvia alba in the Mediterranean Sea. Italy: First report of the long-legged crab Paragalene longicrura, a further new Mediterranean record of the rare offshore rockfish Pontinus kuhlii, first documented record of the spiny butterfly ray Gymnura altavela in Sardinia (Tyrrhenian Sea), new record of the red-spotted wrasse Lappanella fasciata from the Messina Strait, first documented record of the rarely observed brown moray Gymnothorax unicolor in the Ionian coast, first record of the colonial ascidian Botrylloides israeliensis, first record of the Morocco dentex Dentex maroccanus, first record of mottled shore crab Pachygrapsus maurus and of an adult specimen of barracudina Lestidiops sphyrenoides in the Adri-atic Sea, and further new Mediterranean records of Ross worm Sabellaria spinulosa along the same coast. Tunisia: second record of smalleye squaretail Tetragonurus cuvieri from the African Mediterranean coast. Slovenia: first records of the sea slug Trapania graeffei and Melanochlamys wildpretii, with the last one also representing the northernmost finding of this species. Croatia: northernmost record of the endangered twaite shad Alosa fallax in the Adriatic coast. Albania: first records of the Mediterranean spearfish Tetrapturus belone. Turkiye: first record from the Aegean coasts for Turkiye of the green macroalgae Cladophora bat-tersii and Valonia aegagropila. Israel: first record of the skeleton shrimp Caprella acanthifera in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Syria: first record of the Smooth grenadier Nezumia aequalis from Syrian marine waters